Trump-Putin meet: Hours before talks in Alaska, dealmaker Donald says he 'would walk' away if it doesn't go well; says 'nothing set in stone'

US President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Saturday for a summit that could influence the war in Ukraine and relations between Washington and Moscow.

The meeting gives Trump an opportunity to present himself as a negotiator who can help end the conflict in Ukraine, something he has said he could do quickly.

However, hours before the meeting, Trump said that if the talks with Putin go badly, he "would walk."

"I think it’s going to work out very well, and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast," Trump said while talking to American news broadcaster Fox News.

"If it doesn’t, you walk?" Fox anchor Bret Baier asked.

"I would walk, yeah," Trump replied.

.@POTUS: "We're going for a meeting with President Putin in Alaska, and I think it's going to work out very well — and if it doesn't, I'm going to head back home real fast."@BretBaier: "If it doesn't, you walk?"@POTUS: "I would walk." pic.twitter.com/kJVmRy8sKu

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 15, 2025

The comment is similar to what Trump told Fox Radio on Thursday. "If it’s a bad meeting, I’m not calling anybody — I’m going home. … But if it’s a good meeting, I’m going to call President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and the European leaders."

Trump also said he does not know what would define success for the meeting with Putin, but mentioned that he wanted a ceasefire.

Asked what would make the meeting a success, he told reporters on Air Force One: "I can’t tell you that. I don’t know. There’s nothing set in stone. I want certain things. I want a ceasefire."

"I want to see a ceasefire rapidly … I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today," he said, adding that Europe and Zelenskyy would also be involved. "I want the killing to stop."